


How do you say, ‘Thank You?’

by GiganticBearLemonade14



Category: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Bit sad, Podlings are nice people, Rian's been through a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 18:55:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21990289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GiganticBearLemonade14/pseuds/GiganticBearLemonade14
Summary: After The Second Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood, Rian finds a surprising source of comfort from the former Podling Servants of the Skeksis.
Relationships: implied Deet/Rian
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	How do you say, ‘Thank You?’

**Author's Note:**

> There are some scenes I can’t watch in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and the scene where skekTek the Scientist crushes a Podling’s hand is one of them. No lie, when I first saw it, I was close to tears, I found it so upsetting. This fic is my way of giving those Podlings servants the love they deserve.

Victory didn’t feel like Rian had imagined victory would feel.

Before, he had never had a cause to imagine what victory would feel like. There had been no war to go to, no enemies to battle. The closest Rian had come to picturing a victory of his own had been when he’d imagined capturing the Spitter and being lauded as a hero for it.

But that was then. This was now.

Now, after their victory against the Skeksis, Rian was all a confused jumble of emotions. He was relieved and overjoyed that all of his friends had survived and gladdened that the seven clans had united and driven away the Skeksis. Yet underneath he felt sorrow. He grieved; for Mira, though he was heartened that he’d brought the truth of her murder to light, and for the loss of his father. He was angry that his father hadn’t believed him in time to prevent his death; and yet his anger was just an echo compared to his love. Rian didn’t doubt at all that his father had loved him wholeheartedly.

There was some measure of peace to be found with Brea and Gurjin and Naia - but not entirely, because they were still missing one.

Gentle Deet, who at one time had seemed like the only friend in a world of foes.

It made Rian ache to imagine Deet trekking through the Endless Forest, all alone in her suffering, while they were all together. He knew there was no point driving himself crazy with what-ifs, what he could have done differently. He'd learned that painful lesson when Mira died.

He was grateful that he had his friends to distract him from his woe, and the aftermath of the battle to keep him occupied. Seladon had unofficially stepped down from position of All-Maudra, so she and Brea were dividing the duties of the Vapra clan between them. Naia was also acting as right-hand to her mother, as the future Maudra of the Drenchen clan, and had quickly established a fellowship with the two princesses. Kylan was planning a journey to the Crystal Desert with some of his Spriton kin to seek out more of their allies, and Rian had asked him if he would let Hup know that they were all alive, him and Brea and Deet. He did not ask Kylan to tell Hup that Deet was missing; he felt that he owed it to the brave, little Podling to give him that explanation in person.

In the meantime there were people to feed, the dead to bury and the wounded to tend to.

And not just the Gelfings. As Rian was coming back to Gurjin and Naia, he stumbled across a group of four Podlings, standing together in Stone-in-the-Wood, at the edge of the mix of Gelfling clans.

Rian thought he recognised them as the servants from the Skeksis castle; the older butler and the younger butler and the two minstrels, huddled near to each other. They all looked bewildered and exhausted and the older Podling held one hand close to his chest as if it were injured.

Nobody seemed to have noticed them so far, they were so small compared to Gelfling. Deet would have noticed them. She would have already been over there, doing what she could, because that was the kind of person Deet was. Rian remembered when they had first met - which was actually _after_ they had first met, when he skipped ahead of her in the queue to see the Maudra Fara - in the Endless Forest. After witnessing the death of his best friend, being framed for her murder and cast out by his kin, it had almost been too much to bear when he tried to light a fire and discovered the ground was too wet.

Deet had come and offered to help. And that simple kindness had been enough for Rian to hope that things might turn out alright in the end. And from there, things _had_ got better. He discovered that he had old friends who still loved him and were willing to hear his side of the story. And he discovered that he had new friends who believed him too, and were willing to help him.

And now Deet was gone, and who was going to help her?

I’ll help her, vowed Rian. And he’d start by helping those four Podlings.

Rian went over to them.

“Excuse me.” he said, as they all turned to look at him. “Are you from the castle?”

The Podlings shuffled uncertainly, looking at each other as if trying to work out how to answer. Probably, they were unsure of how a Gelfling would react if they admitted that they were the former servants of the Skeksis. Considering that one of their former lords was now a stain on the ground, their fears were pretty well-founded.

“I only ask because I was a guard there too - a while ago.” explained Rian. “Um, me and my friend used to steal food sometimes?” he added guiltily.

The younger of the Podling butlers gave a yelp of recognition. The older butler pointed with his good hand at Rian, shaking his finger in a way that was unmistakably scolding, grumbling under his breath.

“I’m sorry.” said Rian. It felt like decades ago that he and Mira had been messing around, racing each other up the towers and playing tricks together.

Everything had been so much simpler back then.

“I wanted to ask,” Rian said “Do you need any help?” He gestured to the hand the older butler was keeping concealed under his cloak and added, “Are you hurt?”

The Podlings leaned in towards each other and exchanged a few words in their language. After a short discussion, they turned back to Rian. The older Podling uncovered his hand, which he supported with his uninjured one, and held it up so Rian could see. It was tinged blue with bruises and swollen, to the point that Rian wondered at how he could still move his fingers.

“Oh, that’s bad.” said Rian unnecessarily. “It looks like it might be broken.”

The older Podling nodded mournfully.

“Come along and we’ll get it checked over.” said Rian.

He led them to the nearest healing hut, the younger butler guiding his older friend with a hand on his shoulder, with the two minstrels bringing up the rear like an honour guard. They all watched anxiously as the Gelfling healer carefully examined the hand. He confirmed that it was probably broken and applied a thick poultice of herbs to held reduce the swelling. He raised the injured hand on a pillow and promised to examine it in closer detail in an hour, once the swelling had gone down.

“How did it happen?” Rian asked.

The younger of the Podling butlers explained in broken sentences. “Skeksis,” he said, and “hurt” and a word that Rian knew from Hup to mean “crazy” in the Podling language. He raised his foot and mimed crushing something under his heel, and the older Podling groaned and shook his head.

It didn’t take a genius to work out what had happened.

“I’m so sorry.” Rian said sadly.

The Skeksis had always been a bit… Rian searched for the right word. Flamboyant? Eccentric? Certainly they were prone to the dramatics, screeching and flailing about when they were upset with one another or cawing like a flock of ravens when they were in high spirits. If you were standing too near, you could end up with a black eye. And, yes, they did push and shove their servants around, none too gently. But a Skeksis deliberately crushing a Podling’s hand was far worse than black eye.

So was killing people, thought Rian, thinking of Mira. He remembered how the Scientist had so gleefully plunged the syringes into her back and shuddered. It was unthinkable - how could anyone so gleefully revel in another’s death? Rian remembered his own horror when they had killed her; the awfulness of the whole thing transfixing him in place, so that all he could do was gape.

He remembered shouting out, while Deet had been screaming in the grip of the Darkening; “Stop! You’re killing her!” and the Skeksis laughing and crowing, like it was some kind of ghastly show put on for their amusement.

A questioning noise from one of the Podling minstrels broke through those unpleasant memories. She was watching him curiously. Rian realized his fingers had turned into fists that he was clenching tightly in his lap.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just…” Rian struggled, trying to find the words. “My friend was also hurt by the Skeksis.” he said.

The minstrel made a sympathetic coo. She leaned over and patted him on the wrist. Her curly-haired friend, who had fallen asleep, slipped off her shoulder and woke with a start, chattering crossly.

Rian laughed a little. “Two of my friends, actually.” he said, the words stumbling out from the aching well near his heart. “One of them…they killed her. The other one…I know she’s alive but…I don’t know where she is. Or if I’ll ever find her -”

Rian wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

The minstrel made another sympathetic noise and patted his arm again. The younger butler, sitting beside his dozing friend, spoke.

“Hope.” he said. He said a few words in the Podling language. “For. You. Friend.” he said, with difficulty.

“Thank you,” Rian said. He remembered Deet asking Hup the words for ’thank you’ in his language. “ _Fala Vam_.”

That was what Deet would have said.


End file.
